- Published
Thames Water paid its finance chief a £1m signing-on fee in July as the company struggles with a mountain of debt and faces temporary nationalisation.
Steve Buck joined the company in April 2025 but it is understood the seven-figure payment was not made until last month after the company had taken legal advice over its contractual obligations.
The existence of the payment, first reported by Sky News,, external was apparently revealed in a letter from the Thames Water chairman to MPs on the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.
The money is believed to have come from emergency funding provided by Thames Water's lenders.
The utility company owes roughly £20bn and has been working with creditors and government officials to find a way forward.
Failure to reach a deal could lead to Thames Water being forced into a "special administration regime", a form of temporary nationalisation intended to keep the business operating until a viable solution can be found.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has previously said he would like to see "greater public control" of key water and energy utilities.
In the past year, Thames Water boss Chris Weston saw his pay increase 14% to £1.63m while other directors received bonuses totalling £4.1m.
Speaking on the BBC Big Boss interview late last month, Weston acknowledged there was anger about Thames Water pay, but argued that the company needed to be able attract "capable people to help turn this company around".
"If we're not prepared to pay market rates, then they won't come to us and they won't stay with us," he said.
Big Boss Interview: Thames Water Chris Weston
The CEO of the UK's largest water company speaks to the BBC about water security, pollution targets and Thames' future.
Weston also warned special administration could see taxpayers left bearing the cost.
Instead, he threw his weight behind a rescue deal that has been put forward by the firm's lenders.
Thames Water has faced intense criticism for several years over failures to prevent sewage discharges and leaks.
Last year it was handed a record fine of £122.7m from the regulator Ofwat, who said the company had "let down its customers and failed to protect the environment".
Weston said he wanted the company to "do better" but some of the targets it had been set were "not realistic".
Related topics
-
- Published15 July
-
- Published31 July